"This afternoon, a tourist threw a can of potato chips into Monkey Mountain! White Brow must have eaten the potato chips, causing his discomfort!"
"Huh?"
Fang Ye's face instantly took on a 'what the hell' expression, not knowing where to start with his complaints.
The new Monkey Mountain wasn't yet finished, and the current one is pit-style, which indeed makes it easier to trigger tourists' feeding instincts.
When there are fewer visitors, it's manageable with animal keepers using loudspeakers for guidance, but when it gets crowded, it's impossible to keep an eye on everyone. To prevent visitors from feeding the animals, a three-meter-high plexiglass barrier was added behind the fences surrounding Monkey Mountain.
Although the temporary barrier isn't pretty and doesn't provide shade like a complete canopy would, and the reflections might affect photos, the overall benefit outweighs these downsides, ensuring the macaques aren't fed by visitors.
Before, visitors could stand by the fence and directly throw food down, but now they have to make an effort to toss it over the barrier.
A three-meter-high barrier clearly means you're not supposed to feed them!
How shameless do you have to be to throw food over it in full view of everyone? How thick does your skin have to be?
And if you're going to feed the monkeys, feeding them fruit or something would be one thing, but potato chips? A whole can of them?
The potato chips that were thrown in must have been hoarded by White Brow as a precious find.
Potato chips are high in salt and carbs. Plus, White Brow is an older monkey. His digestive and recovery abilities are not as strong as they were when he was younger. Can he really handle eating potato chips?
No wonder his health status is poor.
Upon hearing this, Lin Ying was so angry she clenched her teeth, yet her movements remained gentle as she covered White Brow's eyes and sprayed a bit of Yunnan Baiyao on him, "Such tourists should be caught and fed potato chips for a week. No, that's too easy on them; they should be fed bamboo, let them try to digest that for a week and see how they fare."
Initially thinking that White Brow had suffered only some external injuries, it turned out he ate food fed by tourists!
If it wasn't discovered and treated in time, he could only rely on his natural healing. Who knows, he might mysteriously pass away one day.
Glancing at White Brow, White Brow's eyes were round and turning continuously, sizing up everyone's faces, as if trying to discern something. It appeared much calmer than when it was first captured.
Realizing there was no danger and intelligently guessing that they were trying to help it recover, White Brow's mood steadied and it even pouted at her, an expression of friendliness among primates.
Chuimi, love you yo.
Lin Ying thought for a moment and then asked, "What if it just doesn't become Monkey King? Can it not do that?"
Fang Ye gave her a mysterious look, "Once it goes back and sees its followers acknowledging Black Claws as their new leader and that its mate has been taken by Black Claws, you tell me, could it endure that? And after enjoying the privileges of being the Monkey King, Black Claws is even less likely to relinquish the position.
The two have old grievances, and the next time they meet, it's sure to be a fight to the death."
Lü Jiamu couldn't help sighing, "White Brow doesn't have the advantage in terms of martial prowess! It had some popular support, but that's completely gone now. It definitely can't compete with Black Claws."
How unlucky!
If it were just an ordinary macaque getting sick, after being treated and isolated for a while, it could be released back to reintegrate with the troop.
But White Brow's weakness came at a critical time in the struggle for the Monkey King's position, and the necessary treatment requires isolation for a while; after it's healed, it will be hard to return to the troop.
Fang Ye shook his head and looked at White Brow with pity, clicking his tongue. White Brow, oblivious to what the future held, still carried an air of pride unique to the Monkey King.
Not optimistic, he said, "We'll see when the time comes! Regardless, let's give it a try."
For group-living primates, the most important privilege is being able to live within the troop!
Wolves have the notion of the "lone wolf"; some leave their packs due to food scarcity, unable to provide for the whole family, seeking sustenance elsewhere and joining other suitable packs. Young, strong wolves nearing maturity may be driven off by their parents, especially before mating season, to meet other females and start their own families.
Or some wolves are simply adventurous by nature and enjoy roaming.
But have you ever heard of a "lone monkey"?
Monkeys are always in groups. A solitary monkey, living without a troop, leads a very wretched existence.
If White Brow is not allowed to return to the troop, it would probably suffer more than death.